Programs
Bilingual Education/ESL Programs in AISD
- The Texas Education Code requires that school districts offer a Bilingual Education program at PK-6 for any language with 20 students or more enrolled at any grade level across the district.
- Texas law requires the teaching of both the student's native language and English. The state of Texas provides student textbooks in English and Spanish for Spanish-speaking students in a bilingual education program.
- AISD offers transitional bilingual education programs in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Mandarin. In a transitional model, the native language is used to help students learn the curriculum and English; however, the goal is to move students into an all-English setting once they have met the standards to exit the program.
- Currently AISD does not have a dual language or maintenance bilingual program.
ESL Programs in AISD
- Texas law requires that students who do not receive a bilingual education program, receive an ESL program.
- Currently students in grades PK-6 whose native language is not Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, or Mandarin receive instruction through an ESL program which does not include native language instruction.
- All middle and high school students are served through an ESL program.
Community
The Office of Bilingual Education/ESL also provides community and parent outreach through training and community events. Through work with community organizations, the office has provided:
- A Spanish morning radio program that communicates educational tips for parents to support their English Language Learners.
- Annual events held by the Office of Bilingual Education/ESL, such as La Feria, engage the Spanish-speaking community in educationally focused conference.
- During the fall of 2008 the OBE/ESL initiated a parent program called E-Promotoras, which is designed to work with parents in their communities to learn pre-school literacy skills. These skills will allow them to support their English Language Learner before they begin school
© AISD, 2009 /